To give you an idea, the EEE Pc probably uses around 13 to 18W of power while running on battery.
The following tips might help you save some battery:

Use the lower voltage, underclocked 630MHz mode, which might save 1.5-2W

Turn down the screen brightness to a comfortable level, which might save up to 1W

Turn off the wifi adapter, which can use up to 1W even when idle

Use a USB flash drive rather than a USB optical drive, which could save up to 2.4W when idle (but spinning) and 5W when in use.

Use a USB flash drive rather than a USB hard drive, which could save up to 0.4W when idle and 2.4W when in use.

Avoid using 3D graphics hardware either in games, screensavers or the desktop, as it can use up to 3 to 5W more in heavy use.

If using Windows, activate a power saving mode such as "Max Battery".  Actual benefit may be small if already underclocked, but might save a Watt or so when at 900MHz.

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Doing the following with your Eee is not likely to drain the battery significantly.

- Using bluetooth.  Bluetooth class 1 adapters will use virtually nothing when idle and up to 0.1 to 0.2W when transmitting, and class 2 adapters use even less.
- Add more RAM.  This will not affect power usage much.
- Turn on visual effects such as Luna/Royale/Zune themes if you're using Windows.  These won't really make a difference, though using Aero or Compiz certainly will.

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The figures I gave are just my own guesses which are based in part on figures given in this paper (www.crhc.uiuc.edu/~mahesri/research/PACS_paper.pd) combined with my own knowledge of the Eee (ie, that it has a much lower power CPU to begin with).  They are not based on actual measurements I have made on an Eee.

Last edited by F J Walter (2008-04-30 9:12:15 am)